Retake strategy and useful tips?

Hi EMPOWERgmatRichC,

Since I am targeting ISB'18 admit and I had sufficient time for application deadline, I am planning to retake the test and strengthen my application.

Detailed answers to your queries are listed below :

1. How long have you studied? - I studied for 2 months

2. What study materials have you used? Mainly I used OG, GMATCLUB forum and egmat SC online course.

3. How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)? -
a) GMATPREP1 : 580 (V-20, Q-50)
b) MGMATCAT1 : 620(V-26, Q-46)
c) MGMATCAT2 : 610 (V-27, Q-44)
d) MGMATCAT3 : 640 (V-30, Q- 44)
e) MGMATCAT4 : 670 (V-31, Q-47)
f) MGMATCAT5 : 720 (V-37, Q-46)
g) GMATPREP2 : 680 (V-31, Q-50)
All the tests above except GMATPREP1 and MGMAT CAT1 were taken in modified sectional order (Q-V-IR-AWA)

4. When are you planning to apply to Business School? - I am planning to apply in November,2017.

5. What Schools are you planning to apply to? - Currently I am planning to apply for ISB and INSEAD.

You might want to get your ESR to see if you have any obvious Verbal shortcomings. If you find that your performance on a certain question type has been especially poor, you know exactly where to put in your time and effort. Meanwhile, ensure that your Quant stays up to date so that you don't lose points there.

A very common mistake that re-takers commit, as did I, is that they stop focusing on Quant especially if their quant score is close to 50. So, make sure that you practice atleast 10 random quant questions daily. As far as Verbal is concerned, ESR is important, as Karishma said. So, look at the section you performed worst from the lenses of accuracy and time. Timing is important to hit 700+.

Hi yashwanthreddy,

To start, many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so it's likely that you just have not put in enough time and effort yet to have scored higher. By extension, now that you've taken the Official GMAT, it's possible that you might continue to improve on this performance. However, GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, most of your CAT score results (and your Official GMAT Score) show that you essentially performed the same way each time (+/- a few points). Unfortunately, we have to ignore that one V37 - it's an 'outlier' and you never performed close to that level again. This implies that "your way" of approaching the Verbal section will continue to earn you a Verbal score in the high-20s/low-30s. To raise this level to a V38, you will have to make some significant improvements to how you handle the Verbal section - and that will require that you change how "see" (and respond to) that section of the Test.

Thankfully, the Verbal section of the GMAT is as consistent and predictable as the Quant section is, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. You have also given yourself plenty of additional study time - which is good. If yo focus on learning/practicing the proper Tactics, I bet you could retest within a month and score higher.

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Hi EMPOWERgmatRichC,

Yes, I am planning to change my approach towards verbal section in order to improve the score to 38 or above. I can safely devote 20-25 hours a week. Adding to that I do not score higher in one of the verbal area. Its more or less consistent that I get equal number of wrong answers in each of SC, CR and RC. Can you suggest some points to make improvement?

Hi yashwanthreddy,

Given your specific Verbal needs - and the timeframe that you have before your next Official GMAT, I think that you would find the EMPOWERgmat Verbal Score Booster to be quite helpful. Most of our clients finish that Study Plan in under a month, so it would fit your schedule perfectly. During that time, you'll also be able to access any of the Quant resources that interest you. We have a variety of free resources on our site (www.empowergmat.com), so you can 'test out' the Course before setting up an account.

If you have any additional questions, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

I would like to add something that I read in one of the Veritas' Books. If your score is Less than 75 Percentile in exam, you probably need a better conceptual understanding. Extending it to individual sections, since your Verbal score is 31, you should concentrate more efforts towards understanding/learning better the concepts in your weakest section.

Hi

You should focus only on your verbal

Best Material

Manhattan SC Guide and RC Guide
Critical Reasoning bible

learn the concepts tested on GMAT. After learning, practice your learned section with timed practice. You can also take quizzes to meet the pace of GMAT. When completed all the concepts learning and handsome practice Take full lenght CATs, know your estimated score. Analyze the result with Correct/incorrect questions, pacing analysis trace your mistakes and learn from them, make an error log to know your mistakes in the previously attempted questions

Good Luck

Hi yashwanthreddy,

You are right about focusing on the verbal section. Taking another GMAT PREP course may help you solidify your concepts. In my opinion E-gmat verbal online or the e-gmat verbal live are both amazing courses that can really help you improve your scores.

However, given how close your GMAT date is, I personally do not think one should focus on too many different things on the final leg of their GMAT Preparation. It may be nice to give a couple of mocks (the official ones) and work on your weaknesses If you want to improve on any individual area such as Sentence Correction, you may subscribe to the individual SC course as you can finish the whole course in 10 days (with proper dedication). If however you are only looking to indentify and improve on your weak areas, I would encourage you to purchase the e-gmat scholaranium. It is without a doubt, one of the best practice tools for verbal and will indeed help you on the final leg of your preparations.

Hope this helps. All the best.